6 Ways to Stay Focused During the Job Search

When you're unemployed, no matter how desperate you are to find a job, it is very easy to become distracted from your ultimate goal. Sometimes, the very computer you are using to find a job can pull you away from your job search.

You're trying to find a job, but you need to harvest your crops on Farmville; you have to regain the top score in Bejeweled Blitz; and you’re singing to songs from Glee (and you don't even like Glee) while trying to figure out just who Ted Mosby is going to marry on HIMYM. You haven't found a job yet and your goals suddenly feel so far out of reach. How do you stay focused?

Get the Job Done. Procrastination leads you nowhere. The best way to stay focused on your goals is to just dive in and get started. One thing leads to another and before you know it, you've edited your resume, wrote out cover letters, filled in job applications and applied for various positions. To help you stay focused, it might be important to put together a checklist covering the tasks you need to accomplish that day. Nothing will give you greater pleasure than crossing something off your list and feeling like you accomplished something.

Set Realistic Goals. When you set unrealistic goals for yourself, you experience failure very quickly. This is not a healthy process. It can lead to poor self-esteem and the propensity to just give up. When you set realistic goals and achieve them, you build up momentum that can carry you throughout the job search. Little wins along the way lead to big wins in the end.

Think Outside the Box. You are not reaching your goal of full-time employment, but rather than give up, set up some shorter term goals that can boost your resume. A job seeker could work part-time or volunteer for a non-profit organization in need of your expertise. It allows you to continue working in your desired profession, build your resume and develop new contacts – all providing you with fresh new ideas and perspectives for your job search.

Stay Organized. It is so easy to fall into disarray when applying to multiple jobs and maintaining a number of contacts. I know this. When I was searching for a job, I kept a notebook where I entered every job I applied to, including who I contacted, when I followed-up, and notes on whether I thought it was a job I should pursue vigorously or if it was a position I would accept just to have a job. Before I knew it, the notebook just sat in the corner next to my workout log and collected dust. The lack of organization led me to apply to positions I had already applied to; follow-up with the wrong people...and in some cases, apply to a job at the wrong company. Staying organized leads to less mistakes, which means less stress and more focus.

Ask for help. It's ok to ask for help. The more people, the more ideas and the more creative your job search can be. I reached out to a contact and asked her to offer me suggestions on my resume. I didn't agree with everything she suggested, but the few things I did agree with, helped me better pinpoint my job search. She also provided me with several confidence boosts that were appreciated and needed at the time. Help can also be provided by reaching out to contacts and asking them about jobs within their company. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many jobs are actually not advertised, so these contacts can be a valuable tool in a job search. You never know until you ask.

Evaluate. At some point, you need to assess how good the job search is going. You should go over what you have done, what you've accomplished and how your efforts panned out. If you're not going anywhere with the job search, it might be time to create a new plan of action. If your plan isn’t working and you don’t take to review what you have done, you will only end up getting depressed, confused and aggravated. There's always more than one way to accomplish your goal. Take the time to determine what is right for you. Never give up and eventually, you will reach your goals.

Comments Policy

Vault.com encourages you to express your opinions and engage in discussions with one another by leaving comments on our site. While we promote an open forum, please follow these guidelines to ensure an enjoyable and welcoming environment for all our readers. Vault.com does not review or moderate all comments but we reserve the right to remove or edit content once posted.

Respect one another. Debates are great, but attacks are not. Please refrain from posting offensive, obscene, threatening or abusive comments. If you personally attack other readers or writers, your comment(s) and responses to those comments may be removed from the discussion. Attacks create a hostile environment that discourages discussion. You are fully responsible for libelous or defamatory comments.

Hate-speech will not be tolerated. Comments containing racism, homophobia, sexism, or any other form of hate-speech have no place on our site.

Keep your language in check. Vulgar posts may offend other readers. Our filters are fairly tolerant, allowing for quite a bit of colorful/questionable language, but too many obscenities may prevent a comment from posting. In addition, in some cases, if a post is still too vulgar, a moderator may later remove or edit it.

Please note that comments may be edited by the moderator for any reason, including but not limited to language.

Stay on topic. Comments should be related to the topic discussed in the associated article or blog post. In order to keep the conversation relevant, off-topic comments may be edited or removed.

Don't impersonate someone else. You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin of your comments. If we believe you've impersonated someone else, we reserve the right to remove the comment.

Spam and commercial content will be removed. We do not welcome comments containing copy used for commercial purposes or for soliciting funds. If we see them, we reserve the right to remove them.

Readers may "report" concerns about other reader comments. Please use the "Report Abuse" link to flag inappropriate content. If a reader reports a concern, moderators will try to review that concern as soon as possible. This may take a few days although we hope to review comments more quickly. We do not remove every comment that has been reported and we cannot respond individually to every report.

Stop and think before you comment. We won't remove comments because a reader or writer regrets a post. Please remember that these comments are searchable and a comment history has a long life on the web.

Don't include personal information in your comments. We strongly discourage readers from posting personal information about themselves (ex. address, telephone number, workplace) and reserve the right to remove any comments we find with personal information about other people or that violates a third party's right to privacy.

Complaints about removed comments. We reserve the right to remove comments left to protest a removed comment. Please contact us if you have any complaints about deleted comments.

Repeated abuse of our guidelines may lead to commenting privileges being suspended. If you think you've been banned by mistake, let us know.

For further questions and comments regarding commenting on Vault.com, please contact us.